After an afternoon of tidying up, the students had pretty much finished cleaning the vacation home.
So, when it was dinnertime, someone suggested having a bonfire party by the lake to celebrate the first night of their school trip.
This idea was a hit with a lot of people. Luckily, the resort had all sorts of equipment, so everyone started moving food and gear to get a kick-ass bonfire party going.
After talking with Elizabeth in the afternoon, Roy became much more cautious. He'd noticed hidden cameras all over the resort, and it was clear someone was watching them through those cameras.
Good thing he found them early, or Roy might have ended up as another "91 Roy" video.
Elizabeth, on the other hand, seemed completely unfazed, still as laid-back as ever.
"Roy, don't overthink it. Nothing's going to happen with me around. Remember that time in Ambras Town (the wax museum)? It all worked out in the end, didn't it?"
Since Elizabeth said that, Roy let out a long breath.
"I hope so."
Roy really wanted his senior year at Oakwood High to have a perfect ending. If anyone tried to mess with that, he'd just have to make sure their life didn't have a perfect ending either.
Night gradually fell, and the atmosphere at the lakeside bonfire party was really starting to liven up.
Meanwhile, somewhere else around Crystal Lake, some other people were having a pretty intense discussion.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen! It's that time again, the moment you've all been waiting for! This year's rules are a little different, so let me explain the details before you place your bets. No need to rush!"
A middle-aged man with a loudspeaker stood next to a whiteboard covered in photos. If you looked closely, you'd see they were all pictures of the Oakwood High students on their school trip to Crystal Lake.
From Roy to Elizabeth, all 63 of their photos were plastered on the board.
"Because we have a larger number of test subjects this time, we won't be guessing the cause of death like we usually do. This time, we're betting on who dies first! Now, everyone grab the piece of paper you have, and write down the numbers of the five people you think will die first. See if you can match the first five Jason takes out. The person who gets the most right wins the entire prize pool!
So, let the betting begin!"
The scene instantly erupted into chaos, with dozens of people waving their papers and placing bets.
"I'm putting down a hundred bucks!"
"Five hundred! I bet five hundred!"
...
After tallying the results, Roy turned out to be the most popular choice. Almost every guy had written his number down.
Roy's whole "dating four girls at once" thing had really rubbed people the wrong way. All the guys were hoping he'd kick the bucket sooner rather than later.
The other students were more evenly spread out, though most of the bets were on the pretty girls.
Jennifer, Ashley, and Elizabeth were all near the top of the list, while Neidy probably flew under the radar because she wasn't as attention-grabbing.
"Alright! Has everyone placed their bets? Then we'll stop taking wagers now. Let's all sit back and enjoy Jason's show!"
A mysterious middle-aged man in a black suit stood on a higher floor, watching the commotion below through floor-to-ceiling windows. A young blonde woman in formal attire stood beside him.
The mysterious man had fiery red hair and a beard, giving him an imposing presence.
The young woman, even in a loose-fitting suit and pencil skirt, couldn't hide her sexy and slender figure.
"Mr. R, is it really okay to let them do this?"
The red-haired middle-aged man, Mr. R, let out a cold chuckle.
"Erica, you need to understand one thing. If humans are suppressed for too long, they turn into beasts. So, in order for them to remain normal most of the time, we must allow them to occasionally release their animal instincts."
The beautiful and alluring Erica looked thoughtful.
At this point, Mr. R spoke again.
"Erica, I have some personal matters to attend to tonight. Keep an eye on these folks for me, and don't let them get too carried away."
"Yes, Mr. R."
With that, the red-haired man turned and left the room, leaving Erica alone to watch the cheering crowd below.
Meanwhile, the lakeside bonfire party had reached its peak, mostly thanks to Wade "Wild Child" Davis, who had somehow managed to find several cases of beer.
The teachers didn't stop the students from drinking. After all, they were out in the boonies, and there wouldn't be any cops around to check.
Besides, with so many people, everyone only got a little bit anyway.
Fueled by alcohol, the bonfire party's atmosphere became even more lively, and then people started doing talent shows.
Some sang, some danced, everyone was showing off their stuff.
But when it came to stirring things up, Wade was the guy. He suggested everyone take turns telling ghost stories.
What's a bonfire party without ghost stories?
As soon as the ghost stories started, scared girls snuggled into the boys' arms, and their feelings for each other quickly heated up.
This effect was pretty much the same as watching a horror movie.
How many people who go to see a horror movie with someone of the opposite sex actually like horror movies?
Of course, only the girls themselves knew if they were really scared. Maybe the prey you thought you had was actually the hunter.
"Roy, there's something I want to talk to you about."
Roy was boredly listening to Wade's vivid ghost story.
Even though Wade was a good storyteller, the problem was that Roy had seen quite a few ghosts himself, and even hooked up with two ghost girls. These kinds of ghost stories just weren't scary to him at all.
Neidy, on the other hand, was terrified and had already snuggled into Roy's arms.
But Neidy was that kind of girl – all talk and no action. She was a scaredy-cat but was really interested in horror movies and games.
Jennifer had been dragged into playing horror games with Neidy more than once before.
"Ashley, what's up?"
"It's about that wooden box from last time."
When Roy heard that, he thought something had happened at Parker's house again.
"The wooden box? Let's go over there and talk about it."
Roy and Ashley's departure didn't attract much attention. Only Jennifer, Neidy, Nancy, and Elizabeth glanced over at them.
In fact, quite a few people had already left the bonfire party. There were probably only about forty people still there.
As for where the rest went, if you know, you know!
Ashley pulled Roy into the small woods by the lake, then suddenly looked at him with dewy eyes.
This strange little look made Roy realize that the teenage version of Scarlett Johansson wasn't trying to talk about any wooden box. She probably wanted to discuss a billion-dollar business deal.
"Roy, I like you! Even if I can only be your mistress, I don't want to be apart from you!"
Wow, that's bold!
Ashley confessed her feelings directly to Roy. Even though her face was so red you could see it in the dark, the girl still looked at Roy without backing down.
This bold confession caught Roy slightly off guard, but it was definitely something Ashley would do.
"Ashley, are you sure you've thought this through?"
"I have! Maybe I'll regret it someday, but if I don't tell you, I'll regret it right now!"
Listening to the girl's stubborn words, Roy smirked and then gently stroked Ashley's cheek.
Whether intentionally or not, his thumb seemed to accidentally slip into the teenage Scarlett Johansson's mouth.
"Ashley, I won't give you a chance to regret it. Are you ready?"
Roy meant that he wouldn't let Ashley regret her decision in the future, but Ashley seemed to misunderstand. She immediately put her hair up and knelt down.
Wait a minute, that's not what I meant!
Roy really wanted to stop Ashley, but she had already started fiddling with his belt.
Luckily, even though Ashley was rebellious, she really had no experience at all. She was all talk.
After struggling for a while without being able to undo Roy's belt, she finally looked up at Roy with a flushed face.
"Roy, how do you undo this belt? Don't laugh!"
It seemed Ashley really wanted to take this opportunity to offer herself, but sometimes too much is too much. Her current behavior had completely killed the somewhat romantic atmosphere.
Roy held back his laughter and patted Ashley's pouting little face.
"Alright, Ashley! I know how you feel. Now's not the right time, but there will be other opportunities."
Who knew if there were any hidden surveillance cameras in this little woods? Roy really didn't want to be the male lead in another amateur film.
But Ashley didn't know about any of that. The anxiety of a young girl made her think this was Roy's indirect way of rejecting her, so she directly hugged Roy's leg.
"No! You have to take me right now!"
Roy was starting to get a headache. This rebellious girl was really stubborn.
Since words couldn't stop this rebellious teenager, he'd just have to use actions.
So, Roy directly picked Ashley up and pressed his lips against hers.
Ashley's body instantly tensed up like a bowstring, then quickly softened into a puddle of mud. The speed of the change almost made Roy drop her.
Sure enough, even the toughest lips soften with a kiss!
After Roy's intense verbal education (via kissing), Ashley finally realized her mistake.
"Ashley, will you listen to me? Now really isn't the right time!"
Ashley rested her head on Roy's shoulder, her face redder than a tomato, her voice softer than a mosquito's buzz. She was nothing like the rebellious teenager from before.
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
Roy breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally avoided becoming the star of another homemade movie.
Just as he was about to put Ashley down, she refused to let go, clinging to him like an octopus.
The meaning was very clear: she wanted Roy to carry her back, probably still wanting to show off that she had successfully snagged him.
This rebellious girl was actually quite competitive, otherwise she wouldn't have been trying to outdo Jennifer before.
Now, although Ashley had reconciled with Jennifer and their relationship was no longer tense, the competitive attitude was still there.
Having competition was actually a good thing. Roy was about to carry Ashley back to the bonfire party when he suddenly heard a piercing scream.
Crap! Things were happening this fast? Roy had thought it would be at least the second half of the night before something went down.
"Ashley, you go find Jennifer and the others right now! I'm going to check that out!"
The scream sobered Ashley up quite a bit.
"Roy, you be careful too!"
"I will."
Following the sound, Roy saw a young couple with disheveled clothing.
Huh, there were no bodies or bloodstains. It looked like nothing had happened?
Roy looked at the young couple in surprise. They were classmates in the same year, but not in the same class, so he didn't know them very well.
At this moment, the guy looked even more scared than the girl, hiding behind her like he was about to jump into a tree.
"Snake! There's a snake at your feet!"
Snake?
Roy looked down and sure enough, there was a snake about a meter long. Because its color blended in with the surroundings, he hadn't noticed it right away.
The snake had probably been startled by the scream just now and was now groggily trying to coil around Roy's leg.
There was no way Roy was going to let that snake succeed. If it were Bai Suzhen or Xiaoqing (characters from a Chinese folktale about snake spirits), he might have reluctantly accepted playing the hero and letting them help him cultivate his spiritual powers.
But this kind of ugly-looking snake should just get lost!
Roy quickly grabbed the snake's tail and flung it far away like a shot put.
Hopefully, no unlucky person would get hit by the snake.
At this time, several teachers rushed over.
"What happened?"
Matt Sanchez wanted to show off his manliness and stepped forward to question Roy and the others.
"Just saw a snake and got scared, nothing much."
Elizabeth looked at the disheveled young couple and chuckled lightly.
"The wilderness isn't really suitable for romance. This kind of environment doesn't just have snakes, there might even be bobcats or something, and those are much more dangerous than snakes!"
Bobcats here probably refers to cougars, which are common large predators in America.
If this young couple had run into a cougar, Roy and the others would probably be attending a funeral right now.
At this moment, other students also arrived, making the amorous couple very embarrassed.
Luckily, the middle-aged female teacher saved them.
"Alright, it's getting late anyway. Let's call it a night for the bonfire party! Ms. Elizabeth is right, there are indeed many dangerous wild animals in this kind of wilderness environment. I suggest that if you want to continue having fun, go back to the vacation home!"
The others saw what happened to the lovebirds and immediately felt a sense of unease, all abandoning their plans for outdoor activities.
If they were in the middle of a crucial moment during their outdoor escapade and saw a snake or a bobcat, it would probably leave a lifelong psychological scar.
The students dispersed, returning to the vacation home in groups of twos and threes.
"Ms. Elizabeth, it's still early. Would you like to have a drink? I brought a bottle of good wine."
Matt Sanchez had indeed come prepared, but Elizabeth just glanced at him lightly.
"Sorry, I don't drink! Roy, I'm tired, take me back to the vacation home."
There was no way Elizabeth didn't drink. She loved a type of red wine made from blood, but it depended on who she was drinking with.
Matt Sanchez glared at Roy with resentment, which left Roy feeling very speechless.
Couldn't he see that Elizabeth was so obviously shifting the blame?
Here's another picture of Scarlett Johansson.